Self-Promotion Tactics That Don't Feel Gross

I watched my peer get promoted while I stayed at the same level. We'd joined the company on the same day. We had similar responsibilities. By most measures, my work was stronger—I'd driven higher win rates, generated more launch pipeline, built a more comprehensive competitive program.

She got promoted. I didn't.

The difference? She made sure everyone knew what she accomplished. I assumed my work would speak for itself.

After the promotion announcement, my boss pulled me aside: "Your work is great. But leadership doesn't see it. You need to be more visible about your impact."

I hated that feedback. Self-promotion felt gross. I didn't want to be the person who constantly talks about themselves. I wanted to be recognized for good work, not good marketing.

But after getting passed over for promotion twice, I realized: Nobody will advocate for you if they don't know what you've accomplished. Waiting to be recognized for quiet excellence is career suicide.

The PMMs who get promoted aren't necessarily the best at PMM work. They're the ones who've learned to make their work visible without looking like self-promoting narcissists.

That's a learnable skill, not a personality trait.

Why Most PMMs Stay Invisible

Most PMMs are terrible at self-promotion. They do exceptional work that nobody sees.

Here's what I used to think: "If I do great work, it'll get noticed. My boss will tell leadership about my contributions. People will recognize my impact organically."

None of that happened.

My boss was managing five other people and her own deliverables. She wasn't tracking my wins and promoting them to leadership. She assumed I was handling self-promotion on my own.

Leadership was focused on their own priorities. They weren't monitoring PMM contributions. They noticed Product (ships visible features), Sales (closes visible deals), and Marketing (runs visible campaigns). PMM work—positioning, enablement, coordination—was infrastructure. Important but invisible.

If you're not making your work visible, you don't exist in leadership's mental model.

I've watched brilliant PMMs plateau at director level because they wouldn't self-promote. And I've watched mediocre PMMs get promoted because they knew how to make their work visible.

The difference isn't competence. It's willingness to make contributions known.

The Self-Promotion Framework That Doesn't Feel Gross

Most people hate self-promotion because they picture the obnoxious version: constantly bragging, claiming credit for others' work, talking about yourself in every meeting.

That's not self-promotion. That's narcissism.

Effective self-promotion isn't about talking about yourself. It's about making your work visible in ways that help others understand the value you create.

Here's the framework I use:

Tactic 1: Share learnings, not accomplishments

Bad self-promotion: "I launched a product that generated $4M in pipeline."

Good self-promotion: "Interesting learning from our last launch: Pre-launch customer validation increased pipeline 3x. We interviewed 15 target customers, refined positioning based on their feedback, and launch pipeline went from $1.2M average to $4M. Thinking we should make customer validation standard for all launches."

Notice: The second version shares the accomplishment, but frames it as a learning that benefits the team. You're not bragging—you're sharing insight.

This works in:

• Slack updates: "Learned something interesting from win/loss analysis this week..."
• Team meetings: "Sharing a pattern I noticed in competitive deals..."
• 1:1s with leadership: "Wanted to share what worked in the last launch in case it's useful for planning..."

You've made your contribution visible while providing value to others.

Tactic 2: Celebrate team wins and clarify your role

Bad self-promotion: "I drove a successful launch that generated $4M."

Good self-promotion: "Great cross-functional effort on the Product X launch! $4M in pipeline, 3x our normal performance. PMM's contribution was positioning and enablement—we tested messaging with 15 customers and trained 85 sales reps. Kudos to Product for building a great feature and Marketing for running strong campaigns."

You've claimed your contribution while acknowledging others. That's not bragging—it's accurate attribution.

This works in:

• Post-launch Slack updates
• All-hands presentations
• Email updates to leadership
• Performance review documentation

Tactic 3: Quantify impact in every update

Most PMMs talk about activities: "I created battle cards." That's not self-promotion—it's task reporting.

Effective self-promotion connects work to outcomes: "Competitive win rate improved from 35% to 48% after rolling out new battle cards. Worth ~$3M in additional revenue this year."

Now you're not just reporting what you did. You're showing business impact.

This pattern works everywhere:

• Status updates: "Completed sales training → 90% certification rate, early data shows 15% faster deal velocity"
• Performance reviews: "Built competitive program → 13% win rate improvement → $2.4M revenue impact"
• Exec updates: "Launched Product X → $4.2M pipeline → 3x normal launch performance"

Always connect activities to measurable outcomes.

Tactic 4: Make your boss successful (and visible)

The best self-promotion is often indirect. When you make your boss look good, they promote your work to their leadership.

I send my boss pre-briefs before every exec meeting:

"Heads up for tomorrow's leadership meeting:

• Competitive win rate is 52% (up from 38% last quarter)
• Last launch generated $4.2M pipeline (3x target)
• Sales enablement completion at 90%

If asked about Competitor X: We built a battle card addressing their three main advantages. Win rate against them specifically improved from 30% to 52%."

My boss looks prepared and informed in exec meetings. She references PMM wins when discussing GTM effectiveness. I get visibility through her.

That's not manipulation—it's strategic alignment.

Tactic 5: Document wins in public channels

Most PMMs share updates only in 1:1s with their boss. That's invisible to everyone else.

I share wins in public Slack channels where leadership can see them:

#gtm-wins channel: "Win against Competitor X in $500K deal. Sales rep used the new battle card to handle their main objection. This is the 8th competitive win using the battle card this quarter. Win rate against them is now 52%, up from 30% before the program."

#product-launches channel: "Product X launch results: $4.2M pipeline in first 30 days, 3x our normal launch average. Customer validation and sales enablement drove the performance."

Leadership sees these updates. I don't have to tell them my wins—they observe them directly.

The Self-Promotion Channels That Actually Work

Most PMMs don't know where to self-promote. Here are the channels that work:

Channel 1: Weekly updates to stakeholders

Every Friday, I send a short update to my boss and key stakeholders (CRO, VP Product, CMO):

"This week:

• Competitive win rate trending to 52% (target was 45%)
• Product X launch prep on track for Monday (85 reps trained, 90% certified)
• Completed customer research on [topic], key finding: [insight]

Next week:

• Launch Product X
• Begin work on Q4 competitive program
• Present win/loss findings to Product team"

This keeps me top of mind and surfaces my contributions weekly.

Channel 2: Quarterly business reviews

At quarterly reviews, I present PMM's business impact:

"PMM Q3 Results:

• Launch pipeline: $15M (120% of target)
• Competitive win rate: 52% (up from 38%)
• Sales enablement: 90% certification, 15% faster deal velocity
• Revenue impact: $6M+ through competitive wins and launches"

I'm not waiting for my boss to present this. I'm directly showing leadership PMM's contribution to business outcomes.

Channel 3: Cross-functional meetings

In Product roadmap meetings, I share customer insights from win/loss interviews. In Sales QBRs, I present competitive trends. In Marketing planning, I provide messaging effectiveness data.

Each time, I'm making PMM expertise visible to stakeholders outside my direct reporting line.

Channel 4: Slack channels and async updates

I use public Slack channels strategically:

• #wins: Celebrate competitive wins that used PMM battle cards
• #launches: Share launch results with pipeline data
• #customer-insights: Post findings from customer research

Leadership is in these channels. They see PMM contributing without me having to DM them.

Channel 5: All-hands presentations

When there's a big win, I volunteer to present at all-hands:

• "How we turned around competitive losses to Competitor X"
• "What we learned from our most successful product launch"
• "Customer research insights shaping our 2024 strategy"

I'm not presenting "what PMM did." I'm presenting learnings that benefit the company. PMM's contribution is visible in the process.

What to Do When Self-Promotion Feels Uncomfortable

I still hate self-promotion. But I've learned to reframe it.

Old mindset: "Self-promotion is bragging. If my work is good, it should speak for itself."

New mindset: "Making my work visible helps leadership make informed decisions about resources, priorities, and promotions. If they don't know what I'm accomplishing, they can't advocate for me or invest in PMM."

Self-promotion isn't about ego. It's about making sure decision-makers have the information they need.

When I feel uncomfortable sharing wins, I ask myself:

• Does leadership know this result happened?
• Do they know PMM contributed to it?
• Will they remember this when budget/promotion discussions happen?

If the answer is no, I have to make it visible. Not because I want attention, but because my career depends on leadership understanding my contributions.

Here's what helped me get comfortable:

Reframe 1: You're sharing information, not seeking praise

Instead of "Look how great I am," think "Here's data leadership needs to know."

Reframe 2: You're helping leadership make good decisions

If leadership doesn't know PMM drove $6M in competitive wins, they might cut PMM headcount. Making your impact visible protects the function.

Reframe 3: You're modeling behavior for your team

If you don't self-promote, your team won't either. PMM will stay invisible. By making your work visible, you're teaching others to do the same.

Reframe 4: Silence helps mediocrity get promoted

When you don't self-promote, leadership promotes the loudest person, not the most effective. Your silence gives credit to people who haven't earned it.

The Self-Promotion Mistakes to Avoid

Even with good tactics, you can torpedo yourself with bad execution:

Mistake 1: Taking credit for others' work

Never claim solo credit for team wins. Always acknowledge collaborators while clarifying your specific contribution.

Mistake 2: Only sharing wins, never struggles

If you only share successes, people think you're full of it. Share challenges too: "Launch pipeline was below target. Here's what we learned and how we're adjusting."

Mistake 3: Over-promoting minor wins

Don't blast Slack every time you create a deck. Save public updates for meaningful wins: successful launches, measurable metric improvements, strategic program rollouts.

Mistake 4: Self-promoting without data

"I did a great job on the launch" is bragging. "Launch generated $4.2M pipeline, 3x target" is data. Always quantify.

Mistake 5: Forgetting to tie work to business outcomes

"I created 12 battle cards" is an activity. "Win rate improved 15% after battle card rollout" is an outcome. Always connect work to business impact.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Self-Promotion

Most PMMs want to be recognized for doing great work without having to talk about it. They think self-promotion is for insecure people who need validation.

That's naive.

Organizations promote people whose contributions are visible, not people whose contributions are hidden.

You can be the best PMM in the world, but if leadership doesn't know what you accomplish, you won't get promoted. You'll watch less competent people advance past you because they know how to make their work visible.

That feels unfair. It is.

But waiting to be discovered is career suicide. Nobody is paying enough attention to your work to recognize it without you making it visible.

The PMMs who get promoted:

• Share wins in public channels
• Quantify impact in every update
• Make their boss successful
• Clarify their contribution to team wins
• Present at all-hands and QBRs
• Send regular updates to leadership
• Document wins continuously

They're not more talented. They're more strategic about visibility.

The quality of your self-promotion matters more than the quality of your work when it comes to promotions.

That's depressing but true. Excellence without visibility is invisible. Mediocrity with visibility gets promoted.

Start making your work visible now:

• Send weekly updates to stakeholders
• Share wins in public Slack channels
• Present at QBRs and all-hands
• Pre-brief your boss before exec meetings
• Document every win with quantified impact

Do that for six months and watch how differently leadership treats you in promotion discussions.

Or keep doing great work silently. Wonder why less accomplished people get promoted past you.

Your choice.

Self-promotion isn't about ego. It's about making sure decision-makers have the information they need to recognize your contributions. Start doing it deliberately, or accept that your career will plateau while others advance.

The uncomfortable truth: Great work + visibility = promotion. Great work without visibility = stagnation.

Which career do you want?